Brits caught up in yet more delays at Gibraltar border as Spain ramps up border checks under new Schengen rules

The Spanish interior ministry has said it has intensified controls at the crossing point

PICTURED

By Hannah Crouch

7th April 2017, 11:50 pm

Updated: 7th April 2017, 11:50 pm

BORDER controls between Spain and Gibraltar have been stepped up in a scheduled move by the EU's Schengen zone as friction over the British territory increases.

The Spanish interior ministry has said it has intensified controls at the crossing point to Gibraltar, a rocky outcrop in Spain's southern tip, in line with rules introduced today for boosting security on the Schengen perimeter.

The regulations are in line with rules introduced today for boosting security on the Schengen perimeter

Britain and it territories are not part of the Schengen agreement, whose 26 signatories have also scrapped internal border controls.

The interior ministry said in a statement: "The Spanish authorities have taken timely measures to limit the inconvenience that stronger controls may cause, thanks to new technological systems and additional personnel at the busiest points."

It recommended that for ease of passage, EU citizens carry biometric documents, which are readable by machines, to cross Schengen's external borders, which include La Linea de la Concepcion which borders Gibraltar.

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The new rules coincide with a flare-up in tensions surrounding Gibraltar, which Spain ceded to Britian in 1713 but wants back.

The European Union, reacting to Britain's decision to trigger the process to leave the EU, last month set out draft guidelines stipulating Spain must have a say over whether any post-Brexit trade deals is extended to Gibraltar.

Authorities in Gibraltar fear Spain is trying to take advantage of Brexit to impose its control over the 32,000-strong territory.

Gibraltar on Wednesday had accused Spain of causing long traffic jams with tightened border controls, saying it was "clearly a response" to Brexit friction.

Some 10,000 people cross from Spain to Gibraltar to work every day.

Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU in last June's Brexit referendum, but they still appear set on remaining British after the vote.

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